Walter Straw, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield
With new information coming to light, I have now re-written this entry. The Straw family started as earthenware potters branching out at a later date to make bricks.
Census records reveal that there were two potters by the name of Walter Straw in Sutton in Ashfield. Walter senior (1830 -1888) was followed in the family business by his son Walter junior (1860 -1915) & it was Walter junior who was the brickmaker/potter.
A recent visit to the National Trust's Mr Straw's House in Worksop has also revealed that Benjamin & William Straw who moved from Sutton to run a grocers shop in Worksop were the sons of Walter senior & brother to Walter junior & with kind permission of the House Steward of Mr Straw's House I have added my photo of Walter senior to the post. Walter's photo hangs in one of the bedroom on the top floor.
So I start with some information about Walter senior who is only listed in trade directories & the census as a potter & these listings are as follows. Also to note in these listings is that Walter first owned a pottery on Eastfield Side (name of the road & coloured yellow on the map below) & then set up a second works called the Red House Pottery on Mansfield Road.
1861 Census Walter Straw, earthenware pottery maker, 30; wife Charlotte, 30 & Walter junior, 1, living on Eastfield Side.
Morris 1869 edition, Walter Straw, pottery manufacturer, Eastfield Side, S-in-A.
1871 Census Walter Straw, pot manufacturer & farmer, wife Charlotte, sons Walter junior, Benjamin, William, living at Red House Pottery, Mansfield Road.
Kelly's 1876 edition, Walter Straw, garden pot & earthenware manufacturer, Eastfield Pottery Works, Eastfield Side.
1881 Census Walter Straw, potter & farmer of 33 acres, employing 6 men & 16 boys, 2nd wife Elizabeth (Charlotte had died), Walter junior, 21 & listed as a potter, Benjamin,19, William, 16, both listed as grocer apprentices, with all the family living on Mansfield Road (next to the pottery works).
White's 1885 edition, Walter Straw, manufacturer of garden pottery & glazed earthenware, Forest Side Potteries.
Now on to Walter Straw junior & Local historian Luther Lindley wrote in 1907, that Walter Straw (junior) owned two potteries, but are now closed. His residence was built on a site which formerly stood a windmill & his stack yard was on land next to the Baptist Church off Eastfield Side (name of road, coloured yellow). The 1877 map above shows Straw's two potteries, Red House Pottery coloured brown was opposite the school on Mansfield Road & the second was on Eastfield Side also coloured brown. The corn windmill (brown) is where Walter junior around 1900 built his grand house called Herne House. Today it stands on the corner of Skegby Road & Hill Crescent. I have added a 2018 photograph at the end of the post of this much extended house which was made into flats many years ago, but the front of the house although updated with modern windows & a new roof basically remains the same. Local legend says that he built his house not fronting Skegby Road, but at an angle so it faced his pottery works opposite, so he could watch to see if his workers arrived on time for their shift. All the streets & buildings on this 1877 map situated around Walter's stock yard next to the marked Baptist Church no longer exist. After they were demolished Tudsbury hosiery factory was built on part of the land, but today that has also been demolished & the cleared site is waiting to be redeveloped. First this land was going to used for industrial units, then it was changed to houses & now in 2018 an application has been put forward to build a Lidl supermarket there.
Walter senior died in 1888 & from 1895 Walter Straw (junior) is listed in directories in the Brick & Tile Makers section as well as in the Earthenware Manufacturers section. So the trade directory & Census entries are as follows.
1891 Census, Walter Straw, single 31, pot manufacturer & farmer, step-mother Elizabeth, 50 & brother Frank Straw, 16, all living at Red House, Mansfield Road. S-in-A.
Kelly's 1895 edition, Walter Straw is listed at Eastfield Side in the Brick Makers section & at Forest Side in the Earthenware Makers section.
1901 Census, Walter Straw, single 41, Brick Manufacturer, step-mother Elizabeth, 60, both living with a servant at 28, Skegby Road, Herne House, S-in-A. Walter's new house is not shown on the 1898 revised OS map, so the building of Herne House must taken place around 1899 - 1900 with him being in residence for the 1901 Census.
McDonald's 1903 edition - Brick & Tile Makers section, Walter Straw, Mansfield Road, S-in-A.
Kelly's 1904 edition contains the last trade directory entries for Walter listing him just at Sutton in Ashfield in both the Brick Makers section & the Earthenware Makers section.
1911 Census records Walter as a retired potter, single & still living at Herne House with his step-mother Elizabeth now aged 70.
Walter died in 1915 aged 55.
I originally thought that Walter junior made his bricks at one of his two pottery sites, the Red House Pottery site being on Mansfield Road same as recorded in McDonald's Directory, but with Kelly's 1895 directory recording him as brickmaking at Eastfield Side, I now think he owned the red brickworks as shown on the map above, with this area of Sutton being marked on an older map as East Field. This works was only a short distance from his potteries & his grand house which I have coloured brown on the map above. Another fact which has drawn me to the conclusion that Walter owned the red coloured brickyard is that his father owned the next field to this brickworks & is numbered field 506 on the map above. This fact has come from an article wrote by local historian Luther Lindley in 1907, in which Lindley states Walter Straw (senior) owned the land (field 506) on Outram Street where St. Michael's Church was built. The sum of £2,000 was paid to Walter (senior) for the land & the church was opened in 1887.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.
This W. Straw example has come from a house in the New Cross area which is only a short distance from Walter's brickworks.
Walter Straw's Herne House in 2018 photographed from Hill Crescent. I don't think he would be able to stand at his bedroom window to look over to his pottery today as the view is totally obscured by two large trees. The Red House pottery site is now occupied by a plumbing salesroom & before that when I was a lad the buildings were a Wolseley & Riley car showroom.
With recently visiting Mr. Straw's House in Worksop the National Trust are displaying a wine cooler which is thought to have been made at Walter Straw's Sutton pottery, but the guides told me that the pot is not marked & they cannot say for certain that it was made at Walter's pottery. What they have told me is that Benjamin & William Straw, Walter senior's sons, sold there fathers pots & earthenware in their grocers shop in Worksop & the Trust have sent me a newspaper advert dated 2nd of April 1886 for the Straw's grocers shop advertising Mr. Walter Straw's Sutton-in-Ashfield made earthenware, a copy of which is displayed below.
If you would like to visit Mr. Straw's House in Worksop which has chiefly remained unchanged since the 1920's please see the link below as you have to book your visit due to the size of the house.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mr-straws-house
While I was searching trade directories for Walter Straw as brickmaker in Sutton in Ashfield, I was finding in the Brick & Tile Makers section listings for William then Walter Straw as brickmaker in Farnsfield, Notts. These entries had got me stumped until I came across an extended family tree of the Straw Family on Ancestry. This family tree showed that William Straw 1824-1904, a potter was born in Sutton in Ashfield & was the older brother of our Sutton Walter (senior) 1830-1888. So it appears William moved to Farnsfield to make pots & then bricks. William was then followed at his Farnsfield works by his son Walter 1863-1954. These are the trade directory entries for Farnsfield Straw's as brickmakers - William, Kelly's 1876 & 1885. Walter, White's 1894, then Kelly's 1895, 1900, 1904 & 1908.
I am now wondering if William & Walter also stamped there bricks "W. Straw". It's one I will have to investigate.
Update - After talking to locals & scouring Farnsfield for Straw made bricks & visiting the sites of the brickworks & pottery of which there are no remains of all & are now in private gardens, I have come to the conclusion that the Straw's did not make the standard house bricks for the time, but made the smaller hand made bricks which can be seen in buildings throughout Farnsfield & these Straw made bricks were made so they matched the existing bricks when alterations or extensions were made to buildings in the village. If by chance a Straw stamped brick does turn up, I will add it to the post.
Below is the 1883 OS map of Farnsfield showing the Straw's brickyard & pottery.
Census records reveal that there were two potters by the name of Walter Straw in Sutton in Ashfield. Walter senior (1830 -1888) was followed in the family business by his son Walter junior (1860 -1915) & it was Walter junior who was the brickmaker/potter.
A recent visit to the National Trust's Mr Straw's House in Worksop has also revealed that Benjamin & William Straw who moved from Sutton to run a grocers shop in Worksop were the sons of Walter senior & brother to Walter junior & with kind permission of the House Steward of Mr Straw's House I have added my photo of Walter senior to the post. Walter's photo hangs in one of the bedroom on the top floor.
So I start with some information about Walter senior who is only listed in trade directories & the census as a potter & these listings are as follows. Also to note in these listings is that Walter first owned a pottery on Eastfield Side (name of the road & coloured yellow on the map below) & then set up a second works called the Red House Pottery on Mansfield Road.
1861 Census Walter Straw, earthenware pottery maker, 30; wife Charlotte, 30 & Walter junior, 1, living on Eastfield Side.
Morris 1869 edition, Walter Straw, pottery manufacturer, Eastfield Side, S-in-A.
1871 Census Walter Straw, pot manufacturer & farmer, wife Charlotte, sons Walter junior, Benjamin, William, living at Red House Pottery, Mansfield Road.
Kelly's 1876 edition, Walter Straw, garden pot & earthenware manufacturer, Eastfield Pottery Works, Eastfield Side.
1881 Census Walter Straw, potter & farmer of 33 acres, employing 6 men & 16 boys, 2nd wife Elizabeth (Charlotte had died), Walter junior, 21 & listed as a potter, Benjamin,19, William, 16, both listed as grocer apprentices, with all the family living on Mansfield Road (next to the pottery works).
White's 1885 edition, Walter Straw, manufacturer of garden pottery & glazed earthenware, Forest Side Potteries.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1877.
Walter senior died in 1888 & from 1895 Walter Straw (junior) is listed in directories in the Brick & Tile Makers section as well as in the Earthenware Manufacturers section. So the trade directory & Census entries are as follows.
1891 Census, Walter Straw, single 31, pot manufacturer & farmer, step-mother Elizabeth, 50 & brother Frank Straw, 16, all living at Red House, Mansfield Road. S-in-A.
Kelly's 1895 edition, Walter Straw is listed at Eastfield Side in the Brick Makers section & at Forest Side in the Earthenware Makers section.
1901 Census, Walter Straw, single 41, Brick Manufacturer, step-mother Elizabeth, 60, both living with a servant at 28, Skegby Road, Herne House, S-in-A. Walter's new house is not shown on the 1898 revised OS map, so the building of Herne House must taken place around 1899 - 1900 with him being in residence for the 1901 Census.
McDonald's 1903 edition - Brick & Tile Makers section, Walter Straw, Mansfield Road, S-in-A.
Kelly's 1904 edition contains the last trade directory entries for Walter listing him just at Sutton in Ashfield in both the Brick Makers section & the Earthenware Makers section.
1911 Census records Walter as a retired potter, single & still living at Herne House with his step-mother Elizabeth now aged 70.
Walter died in 1915 aged 55.
I originally thought that Walter junior made his bricks at one of his two pottery sites, the Red House Pottery site being on Mansfield Road same as recorded in McDonald's Directory, but with Kelly's 1895 directory recording him as brickmaking at Eastfield Side, I now think he owned the red brickworks as shown on the map above, with this area of Sutton being marked on an older map as East Field. This works was only a short distance from his potteries & his grand house which I have coloured brown on the map above. Another fact which has drawn me to the conclusion that Walter owned the red coloured brickyard is that his father owned the next field to this brickworks & is numbered field 506 on the map above. This fact has come from an article wrote by local historian Luther Lindley in 1907, in which Lindley states Walter Straw (senior) owned the land (field 506) on Outram Street where St. Michael's Church was built. The sum of £2,000 was paid to Walter (senior) for the land & the church was opened in 1887.
I have now added the 1898 map below which shows the red brickworks in relationship to St Michael's Church (blue). This area of Sutton by 1900 was now called New Cross. I have to note & this is a little bit confusing is that all this part of Sutton from New Cross along Mansfield Road (green) & including Eastfield Side (road of that name & coloured yellow) to Sutton reservoir is now called Forest Side. It appears this brickworks closed after Walter retired from brickmaking & this may have been shortly after 1904, his last trade directory entry.
This W. Straw example has come from a house in the New Cross area which is only a short distance from Walter's brickworks.
Walter Straw's Herne House in 2018 photographed from Hill Crescent. I don't think he would be able to stand at his bedroom window to look over to his pottery today as the view is totally obscured by two large trees. The Red House pottery site is now occupied by a plumbing salesroom & before that when I was a lad the buildings were a Wolseley & Riley car showroom.
With recently visiting Mr. Straw's House in Worksop the National Trust are displaying a wine cooler which is thought to have been made at Walter Straw's Sutton pottery, but the guides told me that the pot is not marked & they cannot say for certain that it was made at Walter's pottery. What they have told me is that Benjamin & William Straw, Walter senior's sons, sold there fathers pots & earthenware in their grocers shop in Worksop & the Trust have sent me a newspaper advert dated 2nd of April 1886 for the Straw's grocers shop advertising Mr. Walter Straw's Sutton-in-Ashfield made earthenware, a copy of which is displayed below.
My photo of the wine cooler reproduced with the permission of the House Steward of Mr. Straw's House, Worksop.
Advertisement reproduced with the permission of the House Steward of Mr. Straw's House, Worksop.
If you would like to visit Mr. Straw's House in Worksop which has chiefly remained unchanged since the 1920's please see the link below as you have to book your visit due to the size of the house.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mr-straws-house
While I was searching trade directories for Walter Straw as brickmaker in Sutton in Ashfield, I was finding in the Brick & Tile Makers section listings for William then Walter Straw as brickmaker in Farnsfield, Notts. These entries had got me stumped until I came across an extended family tree of the Straw Family on Ancestry. This family tree showed that William Straw 1824-1904, a potter was born in Sutton in Ashfield & was the older brother of our Sutton Walter (senior) 1830-1888. So it appears William moved to Farnsfield to make pots & then bricks. William was then followed at his Farnsfield works by his son Walter 1863-1954. These are the trade directory entries for Farnsfield Straw's as brickmakers - William, Kelly's 1876 & 1885. Walter, White's 1894, then Kelly's 1895, 1900, 1904 & 1908.
I am now wondering if William & Walter also stamped there bricks "W. Straw". It's one I will have to investigate.
Update - After talking to locals & scouring Farnsfield for Straw made bricks & visiting the sites of the brickworks & pottery of which there are no remains of all & are now in private gardens, I have come to the conclusion that the Straw's did not make the standard house bricks for the time, but made the smaller hand made bricks which can be seen in buildings throughout Farnsfield & these Straw made bricks were made so they matched the existing bricks when alterations or extensions were made to buildings in the village. If by chance a Straw stamped brick does turn up, I will add it to the post.
Below is the 1883 OS map of Farnsfield showing the Straw's brickyard & pottery.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1883.
George Boot, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield
George Boot is first recorded as builder & contractor on Mansfield Road, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. in Kelly's 1886 edition, then again in Kelly's 1899 edition. The first record of George Boot owning a brickworks is this 8th of March 1901 advert which appeared in the Hucknall Morning Star & Advertiser. This advert also records the location of George's brickworks as being on Dalestorth Road (coloured blue on the 1917 OS map below).
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Kelly's 1904 edition is the first trade directory recording George Boot as a builder & brickmaker with the address of Mansfield Road which was his builders yard.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1917.
I originally though George Boot owned the yellow coloured brickworks on this map with it's clay pit bordering onto Mansfield Road, but I have now discounted this option because it was his builders yard which was on Mansfield Road. I just note this yellow coloured brickworks was accessed via a lane off Skegby Road which is now Hill Crescent. Kelly's 1908 edition correctly lists George Boot's brickworks as being on Dalestorth Road, Sutton in Ashfield.
George Boot built himself a grand house at the entrance to yard, which still stands to day. It has ornate brickwork around the doors & windows & it shows his craft to it's fullest. The couple who now own this house were very interested to hear about my interest in the house, as they wanted to rebuild the 3rd floor, which had been taken down many years ago, but they had not got any plans or photos of the building at that time. So I asked an elderly lady I knew who lives on that road, if she had any photos but the answer was no, but she did remember the 3rd storey. Then the gentleman said, come around the back. There was a large pile of bricks which had come from the 3rd floor. Not one brick had George's name stamped in them, they were all plain bricks ! Kelly's 1916 edition is the last entry for George Boot at the Dalestorth Road works.
In Kelly's 1922 & 25 editions we now find new owners at this brickworks & they are listed as S.E. Carding & Son, Dalestorth Road, Sutton in Ashfield, but then we find in the next directory in 1928 that the works are now back in the hands of the Boot family & recorded as Boot Bros. Dalestorth Road, S in A. This is followed by the same entry in Kelly's 1932 edition & then Cope's 1933-34 edition. Kelly's 1936 edition no longer records the Boot Brothers & on the 1938 O.S. map, houses have now been built along the front of their yard on Dalestorth Road, with open fields to the rear.
This brickyard is recorded on the 1877 O.S. map & I have found Thomas Slack owned this works from the 1881 census to Kelly's 1899 edition, so Slack may have established this yard ?
One of George's moulded bricks & reverse with name.
Variation found 13.9.14 in Derbyshire.
Thomas Slack, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield
I first found in the 1871 census that Thomas Slack b.1831 in Sutton in Ashfield is listed as a Journeyman Brickmaker & was living with his wife & young children on Blackmires Lane, Sutton. Now there was brickworks at Blackmires Farm which was owned by farmer/brickmaker William Beeley, so I am assuming Thomas was working for William Beeley at this date.
The 1881 census now records Thomas Slack as a Brick & Tile Manufacturer living at Grange Cottage, Dalestorth Road with his wife Alice & four sons, John (24), Herbert (22) & Joseph (18) who are all listed as brickmakers, then Thomas junior (15) is listed as a labourer. With this brick yard being shown on the 1887 map Thomas Slack may have established this works in the mid 1870's with him moving to Grange Cottage.
The 1891 census records Thomas Slack aged 60 still living at Grange Cottage with his wife Alice (58) & children, Elizabeth (26) dressmaker, Thomas junior (25) & listed as Brick Carrier & Hannah (24).
Trade directories record Thomas Slack as brickmaker at Grange Cottage, Sutton in Ashfield, first in Wright's 1883 edition & then in Kelly's directories for the years 1891, 1893, 1895 & 1899. As no works address is given for Thomas Slack in trade directories I have identified that Thomas owned the yard just a short distance from his home. The 1898 O.S. map below shows Thomas' brickworks & his home, Grange Cottage, both coloured yellow. Today Grange Cottage has been replaced with a modern house & is now numbered 50 Dalestorth Road, with the garden still occupying all of the yellow area. A row of bungalows have also been built on the land between this plot & Dalestorth Road. Please note the houses on the opposite side of Dalestorth Road are in Skegby & the dotted line represents the parish boundary between Sutton & Skegby.
Trade directories record Thomas Slack as brickmaker at Grange Cottage, Sutton in Ashfield, first in Wright's 1883 edition & then in Kelly's directories for the years 1891, 1893, 1895 & 1899. As no works address is given for Thomas Slack in trade directories I have identified that Thomas owned the yard just a short distance from his home. The 1898 O.S. map below shows Thomas' brickworks & his home, Grange Cottage, both coloured yellow. Today Grange Cottage has been replaced with a modern house & is now numbered 50 Dalestorth Road, with the garden still occupying all of the yellow area. A row of bungalows have also been built on the land between this plot & Dalestorth Road. Please note the houses on the opposite side of Dalestorth Road are in Skegby & the dotted line represents the parish boundary between Sutton & Skegby.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.
The next owner of this brickworks was George Boot around 1907.
Beeley Bros. Brickmakers, Sutton in Ashfield
Samuel Hibbert Beeley & Fredrick William Beeley are recorded as Builders, Contractors & Farmers on High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield, a family business which had been established by these two brothers in 1743, according to local historian, Luther Lindley. This company is recorded from 1899 to 1941 in White's Trade Directories & was run over the years by several members of the Beeley family.
I next find in the trade directories, William Beeley junior, who I believe is related to the Beeley's above. In Kelly's 1876 & 1881 editions William Beeley junior is recorded as brickmaker in Sutton-in-Ashfield, residing in Mansfield. The location of his brickworks is not recorded.
From the 1861 Census I have found that William aged 33 in 1876, had a brother John aged 26 in 1876, who may have be working with him, with this brick being stamped Brothers or William jnr. could have just been using the family business name as above ?
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1887
My next finding is an advert in the Derbyshire Times dated 15th April 1891. This is the sale of Blackmires Farm, Brick Works, Hotel, Public House & Contractor's plant by J. Jeeley, Auctioneer & Valuer. The article mentions probate transfers, so I take it that William senior has passed away.
Originally I was unable to name the owner of the brickworks, which was next to Blackmires Farm on this 1887 map. I have recently found out that it was owned & run by William Beeley (senior).
William is recorded in the 1864 edition of the Nottingham History Directory & Gazette as farmer & brickmaker at Blackmires.
William Beeley is next recorded at Forest Street, S-in-A in White's 1885 edition & residing at Blackmires. As there is no works recorded for William junior in the trade directories, he may have worked with his father ?
I have just found this map at the library & although it is dated 1899 it shows a brick kiln on Priestsic Road just off Forest Street (marked green), this is where I think William or William junior & John could have made their bricks after moving from Blackmires Farm as recorded in White's 1885 Directory.
William Beeley is next recorded at Forest Street, S-in-A in White's 1885 edition & residing at Blackmires. As there is no works recorded for William junior in the trade directories, he may have worked with his father ?
I have just found this map at the library & although it is dated 1899 it shows a brick kiln on Priestsic Road just off Forest Street (marked green), this is where I think William or William junior & John could have made their bricks after moving from Blackmires Farm as recorded in White's 1885 Directory.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1900
My next finding is an advert in the Derbyshire Times dated 15th April 1891. This is the sale of Blackmires Farm, Brick Works, Hotel, Public House & Contractor's plant by J. Jeeley, Auctioneer & Valuer. The article mentions probate transfers, so I take it that William senior has passed away.
On the 1900 Ordinance Survey Map of the area, Blackmires brickworks is no longer recorded only the farm, which in the 1901 Census is now owned by William Antill (farmer) & his family. Factories & industrial units are now built on the land which was formerly the farm & brickworks.
At first I thought that the two recorded William's may have been the same person, but with me finding the 1876 entry as William junior & living at Mansfield, I now know that the 1864 William at Blackmires was his father & this has been backed up by the 1861 Census.
At first I thought that the two recorded William's may have been the same person, but with me finding the 1876 entry as William junior & living at Mansfield, I now know that the 1864 William at Blackmires was his father & this has been backed up by the 1861 Census.
I have one further little bit of information found by Marg at Sutton Library that in the 1861 Census, a William Tomlinson, Master Brickmaker was living/boarding with William Clay at Blackmires Cottage. This cottage could have been on Blackmires Lane, which ran from Newark Road to Blackmires Farm & is now named Hamilton Road. So this William Tomlinson may have worked at or owned the Blackmires brickworks before William Beeley ?
Henry Shaw, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield
Henry Shaw was born in 1842 in Greasley, Notts., his father Joseph was a brickmaker & later a builder & Henry aged 19 was a miner in Greasley. We later find Henry moves to Sutton & I think I have the right man from the census, as the 1871 census records Henry Shaw a builder & married to Mary (nee May), living with Mary's parents on Forest Side, Sutton. Now Mary's father Thomas May was a shoe maker & this ties in with Henry being later recorded as a shoe maker as well. However we next find in the 1881 census that builder Henry is now married to Sarah who was eleven years younger than Henry & they had a daughter aged 2 called Elizabeth & they where living on Mansfield Road, Sutton. I am taking it Henry's first wife Mary had died. This info then all ties in with White's 1885 edition which records Henry Shaw as Builder, Contractor & Shoe Dealer on Forest Side, Sutton-in-Ashfield. So at this 1885 date I do not know if he had started making bricks as there is no reference to him as being a brickmaker.
Local historian, Luther Lindley wrote in his 1907 book, that Henry Shaw was a builder, contractor & brickmaker, with the address of Eastfield Side who had established his business in 1868 & was employing 50 males with Mr. R.W. Doughty as Works Manager. I then found Robert Doughty was his son-in-law & was married to his daughter Elizabeth. With this 1907 account of Henry Shaw recording him as a brickmaker I found Henry is recorded as a brickmaker in Skegby in White's 1894 edition. This entry is then followed by the entries for Henry in Kelly's 1904, 08, 12 & 16 editions at Skegby as a brickmaker. I have established the location of his brickworks from other brick makers working in Skegby & some later info regarding another Mr. Shaw who I write about later. I have used the 1899 OS map below to show Henry's works which I have coloured purple & this works was accessed off Dalestorth Road. Please note the dotted line along this road denotes the parish boundary between Skegby & Sutton with Henry's brickworks being in Skegby. Henry died in February 1917 & I am taking it this is when the brickworks closed. It appears son-in-law Robert Doughty continued to run the building & contractors side of the business as he is named together with wife Elizabeth (Henry's daughter) as joint beneficiaries of his Will which equated to £6083. 15s. & 8d.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.
This example is a normal house brick, found in a garden not to far from Henry's works. The brick shown at the top of this post is plinth stretcher brick.
On the Company's letterhead deposited with the Archives & dated 15th September 1926, the name, address & owner of the works is given as The Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. works, Skegby, Managing Director, Mr. Shaw with James Leece as secretary. So who this Mr Shaw is I am not 100% sure. I have found a Walter Shaw who is recorded in Kelly's 1904 edition as brickmaking at Forest Side, but I have not been able to trace him in the census or establish exactly which brickworks he was running as all works can be accounted for at this date, unless he was working for Louisa Barke who is recorded as a brickmaker on Mansfield Road in 1904 with her husband now working at a second works in Skegby in 1904. It seems to fit ? Then is this Walter Shaw related to Henry Shaw the previous owner of this works ? Henry did not have any sons as far as I can trace, unless Walter was born to Henry & Mary, Henry's first marriage ? Then if this is correct why isn't there any trace of this Walter Shaw in the census ? This Walter Shaw could easily have been Henry's nephew. If I get the answer, I will update the post.
So this 1926 S-in-A Brick Co. letter is to Bennett & Sayers, brick machinery manufacturers in Derby to supply new machinery & parts.
The next letter dated 17th July 1928 from Bennett & Sayers to the S-in-A Brick Co. states that B & S can no longer supply any more goods until "your account has been substantially been reduced, please send remittance as promised in June as we can no longer afford to give such prolonged credit."
There is an exchange of several letters during the next few months with B & S then threatening to take legal action under the Hire Purchase Agreement. In one reply in August, the brick company blamed a misunderstanding with the clerk & sent £20 0s 0d & promised to send more money. But this did not happen because in October, James Leece writes to B & S saying "because no bricks have been sold we cannot send anymore money & I will put this problem to the Directors next week."
This resulted in a letter dated 28th October 1928 to B & S from Arthur Edward Cripwell, accountant for the Company stating that the Shareholders had agreed a motion to go into Voluntary Liquidation & Mr. Cripwell had been appointed Liquidator. In reply B & S said they would come & remove supplied machinery as under the Hire Purchase Agreement. Mr. Cripwell then made a request to delay this as he had already received one or two inquiries about the sale of the yard. B & S agreed.
As time went on & the sale did not happen, B & S then said they would now remove the machinery, but this did not happen either as Barclay's Bank who were part of the Hire Purchase Agreement stopped this, saying that "The plant would be sold with the yard."
I am sorry to say that I do not know what happen next as there is no more correspondence between the several parties concerned deposited with the Archives. With no buyers for the yard or evidence in Trade Directories of New Owners, one can only assume that everything was sold at auction or taken back by Bennett & Sayer. The London Gazette dated 13th of December 1932 records the Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. Ltd. had been struck off the Companies Register.
Further research has revealed that Richard Carter worked at this yard before Henry Shaw with Richard being recorded as brickmaker in Skegby in White's 1872 & Kelly's 1876 editions. It was from a Mansfield Advertiser "For Sale by Private Contract Notice" dated 1st of March 1878 for this works that revealed the location of Carter's yard. The notice is as follows - " A valuable & freehold estate comprising of around 12 & half acres, including all plant & machinery, buildings & kilns. The land is also very valuable for building purposes. It has an excellent bed of clay which is seven feet thick & the entire property is in the parish of Skegby with having a large frontage to Wragg's Lane from Sutton Forest Side to Dalestorth. The above Estate will be sold with or without mineral rights. The brickyard has being doing good business under the occupation of Mr. R. Carter. For more details please contact W.A. Vallance, Builder & Valuer of Mansfield, agent for Mrs. Shelton the owner of the land."
So this account records Carter's brick yard as being on Wragg's Lane & this road was later renamed Dalestorth Road & is shown as such on a map dated 1887. Today this road is still known as Dalestorth Road & leads up to the 18th century Dalestorth House. Today modern houses now occupy this former brickworks site which I remember being built, but what year I cannot remember, possibly in the 1960's/70's. The houses which front this site on Dalestorth Road were built in the 1940's/50's.
The next letter dated 17th July 1928 from Bennett & Sayers to the S-in-A Brick Co. states that B & S can no longer supply any more goods until "your account has been substantially been reduced, please send remittance as promised in June as we can no longer afford to give such prolonged credit."
There is an exchange of several letters during the next few months with B & S then threatening to take legal action under the Hire Purchase Agreement. In one reply in August, the brick company blamed a misunderstanding with the clerk & sent £20 0s 0d & promised to send more money. But this did not happen because in October, James Leece writes to B & S saying "because no bricks have been sold we cannot send anymore money & I will put this problem to the Directors next week."
This resulted in a letter dated 28th October 1928 to B & S from Arthur Edward Cripwell, accountant for the Company stating that the Shareholders had agreed a motion to go into Voluntary Liquidation & Mr. Cripwell had been appointed Liquidator. In reply B & S said they would come & remove supplied machinery as under the Hire Purchase Agreement. Mr. Cripwell then made a request to delay this as he had already received one or two inquiries about the sale of the yard. B & S agreed.
As time went on & the sale did not happen, B & S then said they would now remove the machinery, but this did not happen either as Barclay's Bank who were part of the Hire Purchase Agreement stopped this, saying that "The plant would be sold with the yard."
I am sorry to say that I do not know what happen next as there is no more correspondence between the several parties concerned deposited with the Archives. With no buyers for the yard or evidence in Trade Directories of New Owners, one can only assume that everything was sold at auction or taken back by Bennett & Sayer. The London Gazette dated 13th of December 1932 records the Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. Ltd. had been struck off the Companies Register.
Further research has revealed that Richard Carter worked at this yard before Henry Shaw with Richard being recorded as brickmaker in Skegby in White's 1872 & Kelly's 1876 editions. It was from a Mansfield Advertiser "For Sale by Private Contract Notice" dated 1st of March 1878 for this works that revealed the location of Carter's yard. The notice is as follows - " A valuable & freehold estate comprising of around 12 & half acres, including all plant & machinery, buildings & kilns. The land is also very valuable for building purposes. It has an excellent bed of clay which is seven feet thick & the entire property is in the parish of Skegby with having a large frontage to Wragg's Lane from Sutton Forest Side to Dalestorth. The above Estate will be sold with or without mineral rights. The brickyard has being doing good business under the occupation of Mr. R. Carter. For more details please contact W.A. Vallance, Builder & Valuer of Mansfield, agent for Mrs. Shelton the owner of the land."
So this account records Carter's brick yard as being on Wragg's Lane & this road was later renamed Dalestorth Road & is shown as such on a map dated 1887. Today this road is still known as Dalestorth Road & leads up to the 18th century Dalestorth House. Today modern houses now occupy this former brickworks site which I remember being built, but what year I cannot remember, possibly in the 1960's/70's. The houses which front this site on Dalestorth Road were built in the 1940's/50's.
Messrs Barke, Brickmakers, Sutton in Ashfield
With the help of Marg at Sutton Library, I can now present the information from the Census about the brickworks owned by the Barke family on Mansfield Road as well as the trade directory information previously found.
In the 1871 Census Aaron Barke from Selston is recorded as living at the Beer House, Mansfield Road working as a brickmaker aged 48.
In the 1881 Census, Aaron, 58, son George, 23, also brickmaker, both living at the Beer House.
In the 1891 Census, Aaron 68 is now Publican & living at the Potmakers Arms. George 33, is now joined by another son John 31, Pan Tile Maker, both living with Aaron.
The 1901 Census shows George, 43 as the Publican of the Potmakers Arms. Aaron is no longer recorded.
George in the 1911 Census is recorded as Brickmaker & living with his wife at 11 Apollo Road, which was just across the road from the Potmakers Arms, aged 54.
The Mansfield Road brickworks (field 178), where they all worked was behind the Potmakers Arms (Beer House) & is recorded on the 1877 map below. This works is shown again on the 1899 map, but on the 1917 map the brick yard has gone & been replaced by a football field, to be later followed by the town's dog track, then houses.
In the 1871 Census Aaron Barke from Selston is recorded as living at the Beer House, Mansfield Road working as a brickmaker aged 48.
In the 1881 Census, Aaron, 58, son George, 23, also brickmaker, both living at the Beer House.
In the 1891 Census, Aaron 68 is now Publican & living at the Potmakers Arms. George 33, is now joined by another son John 31, Pan Tile Maker, both living with Aaron.
The 1901 Census shows George, 43 as the Publican of the Potmakers Arms. Aaron is no longer recorded.
George in the 1911 Census is recorded as Brickmaker & living with his wife at 11 Apollo Road, which was just across the road from the Potmakers Arms, aged 54.
The Mansfield Road brickworks (field 178), where they all worked was behind the Potmakers Arms (Beer House) & is recorded on the 1877 map below. This works is shown again on the 1899 map, but on the 1917 map the brick yard has gone & been replaced by a football field, to be later followed by the town's dog track, then houses.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1877.
This advert appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post, 11th April 1872 - Brickmakers wanted - Apply Aaron Barke, Sutton Forest Side Brick & Tile Works near Mansfield.
Aaron Barke is listed as brickmaker in Kelly's & White's Trade Directories from 1876 to 1908 editions. From 1876 to 1900 the Mansfield Road works is listed as Eastfield Road, Forest Side Brick Works & Forest Side, Nottm. Then in the 1904 edition Aaron is recorded at Skegby, Mansfield & then on the next line underneath, Mrs Louisa Barke, Aaron's wife (brick & tile maker) Mansfield Road, S-in-A. The 1908 entry just lists Aaron at Skegby.
We next find in the 1912 & 1916 editions the brickworks at Skegby is now recorded as Barke Brothers, so sons George & John are now in charge. I do not have any bricks made by any of the Barke family at the moment, so they may not have stamped their bricks ?
Although I do not know the location of the family's Skegby Works, the one which I have coloured green on 1913 OS map below appears to be the main contender with it being available during the period of time the family are recorded as brickmaking in Skegby.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1913.
Samuel Daubney Hibbert, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield
S.D.H. - S. Samuel Daubney Hibbert - Sutton.
My first trade directory entry that I have found for Samuel Daubney Hibbert as brickmaker is in White's 1872 edition with the address of Mount Street, Sutton in Ashfield. Samuel is then recorded in Kelly's 1876 & 1885 editions as brickmaker on High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Although I do not have the exact location for his yard, an option is set just behind St. Joseph's Club on High Pavement which is named Quarry Yard on street maps. This site was used for many years by Taggs Coaches & today houses have now been built upon it.
Updated 9.3.16; 12.3.16 & 28.3.17.
New research has revealed that Samuel was also a builder & he is listed in the Builders section of Kelly's 1885 edition at High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield. I have since found out that Samuel's builders yard was actually on Mount Street which was situated just off High Pavement, as recorded in his 1872 trade directory entry. I have to note that a brickworks is not shown on maps on Mount Street, so the Quarry Yard option looks likely, but cannot be confirmed as a brickworks is not shown as such on maps at this location. My next finding in the 1904 edition of the Nottingham & District Trade Directory, Builders section, records S.D. Hibbert (exors. of), 14, High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield. Now this address of 14 High Pavement was the builders yard belonging to another building firm called S.H. & F.W. Beeley. So one can only assume that the Beeley family were administrating Samuel's business in that year as the executors.
During my visit to Nottingham Archives on Thursday I came across a document recording that S.H. & F.W. Beeley (builders & contractors) of 14, High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield had taken over Samuel Hibbert's building company after his death.
Added 29.3.20.
Samuel Oxley, Brickmaker, Hucknall under Huthwaite, Notts.
Samuel Oxley is recorded as a brickmaker in Hucknall under Huthwaite in Nottinghamshire in Kelly's 1885 to 1925 trade directories & from information found in census records, the works may have been run by other members of his family as Samuel would have been 75 in 1925, however he would have been overseeing the business. Samuel died in 1931 aged 81.
Thought I would clarify Hucknall under Huthwaite next. When you see the name Hucknall today you automatically think of Hucknall near Nottingham which is six miles north of the city, but this town is Hucknall Torkard. On the other hand Hucknall under Huthwaite today is just known as Huthwaite & this village is a part of Sutton in Ashfield in the District of Ashfield. When my dad lived in the village in the 1920's & 30's his postal address was Huthwaite, Mansfield.
Finding a named brick made by Samuel Oxley has so far eluded me, but it has not been for the lack of searching. Many of the houses in The Falls area were built between 1879 & 1917 as shown on the maps below & I suspect they were built using Samuel's bricks. My only conclusion is that Samuel did not stamp his bricks. On one of my foray's into Huthwaite I had gone at the right time when a house on New Fall Road was being renovated, but alas all the bricks which had come out of the house had no name stamped in them & the local builder who was doing the work said he had never seen any bricks marked Oxley.
Samuel is recorded as later living on New Fall Road in 1912 & I have coloured this road red on all three maps below. Also I have coloured the road which leads down to Samuel's works in yellow & this was Newkiln Lane, it was later renamed Skegby Road as shown on the 1917 map.
Thought I would clarify Hucknall under Huthwaite next. When you see the name Hucknall today you automatically think of Hucknall near Nottingham which is six miles north of the city, but this town is Hucknall Torkard. On the other hand Hucknall under Huthwaite today is just known as Huthwaite & this village is a part of Sutton in Ashfield in the District of Ashfield. When my dad lived in the village in the 1920's & 30's his postal address was Huthwaite, Mansfield.
Finding a named brick made by Samuel Oxley has so far eluded me, but it has not been for the lack of searching. Many of the houses in The Falls area were built between 1879 & 1917 as shown on the maps below & I suspect they were built using Samuel's bricks. My only conclusion is that Samuel did not stamp his bricks. On one of my foray's into Huthwaite I had gone at the right time when a house on New Fall Road was being renovated, but alas all the bricks which had come out of the house had no name stamped in them & the local builder who was doing the work said he had never seen any bricks marked Oxley.
Samuel is recorded as later living on New Fall Road in 1912 & I have coloured this road red on all three maps below. Also I have coloured the road which leads down to Samuel's works in yellow & this was Newkiln Lane, it was later renamed Skegby Road as shown on the 1917 map.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1879.
First I would like to thank Marg at Sutton Library for supplying me with information from various census records about Samuel Oxley & the different members of the Oxley family who were either brickmakers or brickmaker labourers who may have all worked at the yard. In 2021 I revisited the census records & added new info.
I first start with info on Samuel's father Charles who was also a brickmaker. Charles Oxley b.1821 in the 1841 & 51 census is listed as a brickmaker in Conisborough, Yorkshire. By 1861 Charles & his family had relocated to Nether Moor, Tupton near Chesterfield & in the census he is listed as a Coal labourer with four sons, Joseph b.1847, Charles junior b.1849, Samuel b.1850 & Arthur b. 1855, the three eldest are listed as labourers with Arthur a scholar. The three eldest sons were born in Sandall near Doncaster & Arthur was born in Armthorpe, Doncaster. I mention these locations because later census record other towns for their birth which is incorrect.
In the 1871 census with part of the Oxley family now living at Hagg Bridge, Tupton, Derbyshire. Charles now aged 50 together with sons Joseph 24 & Arthur 16 are all listed as brickmakers. By the 1871 census Charles' other sons Charles junior & Samuel were brickmaking in Huthwaite. Back in Tupton we then find Joseph continues to be a brickmaker, living in Grassmoor in the 1881 & 1891 census, then becoming a Coke Filler/Cooler in the 1901 & 1911 census & still living in Grasmoor. By 1881 Arthur had become a Draper. Their father Charles in the 1881 census is listed as a Timber Dealer & Inn Keeper on Chesterfield Road, Hasland. Charles died on the 14th February 1884.
So back to Samuel Oxley & in the 1871 Census aged 21 together with his brother Charles Oxley, aged 22, both are listed as brickmakers lodging with Henry Humphrey (miner) & his wife in Huthwaite, the exact address is not given. It is unknown at this date if the brothers were brickmaking at the brickworks shown on the 1879 OS map above because from receiving information on another brick making family in Huthwaite there may have been a brickworks at the New Hucknall Colliery on Common Road, so the brothers may have worked there first before setting up the brickworks on Newkiln Lane (Skegby Road) as per 1879 map. Another option is that someone else owned the Newkiln Lane works in the 1870's & the brothers just worked there. If I do find evidence the brothers did established Newkiln Lane brickworks around 1871, I will update the post.
Samuel Oxley in the 1881 Census is recorded as a brickmaker, living on Falls Lane, Huthwaite, aged 31 & married to Mary with two daughters & one son, Frederick Charles. The couple went on to have another son Arthur born in 1883. Samuel is recorded as a widower in the 1891 census, so Mary had passed away sometime after the birth of Arthur & 1891. Samuel did not re-marry. Meanwhile brother Charles in the 1881 census was on his own back in Yorkshire working as a navvy. However the 1891 census does record Charles back in Huthwaite as a Brickmaker. So I have now come to the conclusion that while Charles was in Yorkshire Samuel established his own brickmaking business at the Newkiln Lane works around 1885, operating it in his own name as per Kelly's directory. After which Charles returned to Huthwaite to work for his brother at his works.
These are the trade directory entries that I have for Samuel - Samuel Oxley, brickmaker, Hucknall-under-Huthwaite, Mansfield in Kelly's 1885, 91, 94, 1900, 04 & 08 editions. Then the listing is Samuel Oxley, brickmaker, New Fall Street, Huthwaite, Mansfield in Kelly's 1912, 16, 22 & 25 editions. Samuel was also a Beer Seller between 1885 & 1904 & he is also recorded as a Boot Dealer in the early 1900's in trade directories.
Samuel Oxley in the 1881 Census is recorded as a brickmaker, living on Falls Lane, Huthwaite, aged 31 & married to Mary with two daughters & one son, Frederick Charles. The couple went on to have another son Arthur born in 1883. Samuel is recorded as a widower in the 1891 census, so Mary had passed away sometime after the birth of Arthur & 1891. Samuel did not re-marry. Meanwhile brother Charles in the 1881 census was on his own back in Yorkshire working as a navvy. However the 1891 census does record Charles back in Huthwaite as a Brickmaker. So I have now come to the conclusion that while Charles was in Yorkshire Samuel established his own brickmaking business at the Newkiln Lane works around 1885, operating it in his own name as per Kelly's directory. After which Charles returned to Huthwaite to work for his brother at his works.
These are the trade directory entries that I have for Samuel - Samuel Oxley, brickmaker, Hucknall-under-Huthwaite, Mansfield in Kelly's 1885, 91, 94, 1900, 04 & 08 editions. Then the listing is Samuel Oxley, brickmaker, New Fall Street, Huthwaite, Mansfield in Kelly's 1912, 16, 22 & 25 editions. Samuel was also a Beer Seller between 1885 & 1904 & he is also recorded as a Boot Dealer in the early 1900's in trade directories.
Samuel's son Frederick Charles Oxley b.1879 in the 1901 census aged 22 is listed as a brick yard labourer living on Columbia Street, Huthwaite & the 1911 census records Frederick as a brickmaker (worker) at the same address, so Frederick had joined his father at the works. Samuel's other son Arthur is only listed as a brickmaker aged 18 in the 1901 census. The 1911 census records Arthur as an Engine Driver & living with his sister Elizabeth who had married George Featherstone, a Brick Setter, all living on Unwin Street, Huthwaite. I have been told houses on Unwin Street were built by Samuel for his family members to live in. I am assuming with George's trade he was working for Samuel & was Arthur's Engine Driver job operating a static steam engine at the brickworks rather than on the railways. I have come across this job description before & I associated it to a brickworks on that occasion also.
As well as being listed in the 1891, 1901 & 1911 census as a brickmaker Samuel's brother Charles was also a baker. Some of Charles sons also became bakers, but two sons became brickmakers at Samuel's works. In the 1891 & 1901 census Charles was living on Sutton Road, Huthwaite, with him then living on Unwin Street in 1911. Charles' son Charles Edmund b.1874 in the 1891 census was a Brickmaker living with his father. He then became a Coke Drawer living in Hasland in the 1901 census with a return to Huthwaite by the 1911 census aged 37 & now a Brick Yard Labourer. Charles' other brickmaking son Harold b.1880 is listed as living with his father & a Brickmaker (worker) in the 1911 census aged 31.
So from my findings it appears Samuel established his brickmaking business around 1885, was then joined by his brother Charles shortly afterwards. With Samuel still in charge he closed the works around 1925/6. Taking into account Samuel's age I am assuming Samuel's son's Frederick Charles & Arthur & his nephew's Charles Edmund & Harold (Charles' sons) played a part in helping Samuel run the brickworks in his later life. The 1921 census when released (early 2022) should provide me with info on who was still at the brickworks with Samuel. As previously written Samuel passed away in 1931 aged 81.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900.
During one of my recent brick sorties into Huthwaite I spoke to a gentleman who together with his father had been coal merchants. Now retired he remembers when he was young & his father was not delivering coal, they would go to Riddings Brickworks at Jacksdale were they would load his fathers lorry up with bricks to deliver to local building sites. My next question was "Have you ever seen any bricks stamped Oxley." He replied, " The brickworks used to be over there where the Brierley Park Visitors Centre now stands, but I have not seen any bricks marked Oxley." The Visitors Centre was built just to the right of the marked Brick Works buildings on the map below & the park was created from the former brickyard & the nearby former Sutton Colliery site located a little further north in Stanton Hill. Walking Trails also connects three other former pits sites to the park mainly via old railway routes. As to the name of Brierley Park, Sutton Colliery was also known locally as Brierley Colliery from the fact that miners from Brierley Hill in the West Midlands came to sink & then work at the pit in 1874. These miners christening the colliery Brierley & the name stuck.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1917.
Another little bit of local history is the use of the vernacular term of Mucky Huckna'. This refers to the village of Hucknall under Huthwaite & not to Hucknall Torkard as a lot of people think & I have found on the web that a lot of "old timers" in Hucknall Torkard have claimed it as their own also, but I'm afraid it belongs to Hucknall under Huthwaite.
The term was used to describe the village as a coal mining village where most of it's miners worked at the New Hucknall Colliery & lived in the village in the 1870's. The men would come home from their shift covered in coal dust, hence the term mucky, no pit baths in those days.
Get the tin bath out & fill it with hot water Ma.
- I feel cleaner now !
Mucky Huckna' could have also been used to describe the foul or colourful language often used by some of the miners in their daily lives. You can read some readers remarks about Mucky Huckna' at this link.
Also about the sinking of New Hucknall Colliery at this link.
I have also found a 1707 reference to the village being called Dirty Hucknall & this name for the village may have been corrupted to Mucky Hucknall with the coming of the coal pits & it's miners.
Dirty Hucknall was a reference to the poorly made roads in the village & because the village was built on clay these roads soon turned to mud during bad rainy weather. Therefore your clothes got mucky if you traveled on these roads during bad weather.
The article which contains this information can be read at this Link. I have been told of another variation in Dotty Huckna' also meaning dirty.
So there you have it, I have not yet found a Oxley marked brick, but my research has unearthed a wealth of knowledge.
If you have got or you find a Oxley marked brick, please let me know, my e-mail address is on the contact tab, as I would like to come along & photograph it for my post & if by chance you have one spare, I would dearly like to own one. Many Thanks Martyn.
Searching trade directories has revealed another brickmaker working in Huthwaite & the listing from Kelly's 1885 edition is Robert Wright, Hucknall under Huthwaite. The location of his yard is unknown unless he worked with Samuel Oxley ?
So there you have it, I have not yet found a Oxley marked brick, but my research has unearthed a wealth of knowledge.
If you have got or you find a Oxley marked brick, please let me know, my e-mail address is on the contact tab, as I would like to come along & photograph it for my post & if by chance you have one spare, I would dearly like to own one. Many Thanks Martyn.
Searching trade directories has revealed another brickmaker working in Huthwaite & the listing from Kelly's 1885 edition is Robert Wright, Hucknall under Huthwaite. The location of his yard is unknown unless he worked with Samuel Oxley ?
Sutton-in-Ashfield Brickmakers
Searching new trade directories has revealed the names of several "new brickmakers" which I have not previously wrote about who worked in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts. As of yet no bricks stamped by these makers have been found.
I first use a 1877 map of Sutton & Skegby to show the possible locations of some of these brickmakers works because in most cases the exact location of their works is not given in trade directories. This is followed by another map of another part of Skegby where brickmaking also took place & more will be explained about that area of Skegby later. Then I cover a brickyard which was on Wild Hill, Teversal.
So after listing these "new" brickmakers I have then added the possible timeline to each of these works which are shown on the 1877 map, with information just gathered or previously wrote about. Please note that the orange coloured yard was not started until 1904 & in most cases each of these brickworks expanded in size over the years. I have also listed the timeline for two other yards which are not shown on this map.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1877.
My first "new brickmaker" is Aaron Knighton & his listed in Kelly's 1876 edition at Skegby, Mansfield. Then John Lane is listed at Skegby, Mansfield in Kelly's 1885 edition. As to Skegby, Mansfield in these entries & in subsequent entries, Skegby at this date was a parish within the district of Mansfield, today it forms part of Sutton in Ashfield/Ashfield District. I then found that George Vallance is recorded at Skegby in Kelly's 1876 & 81 editions & he was the son (b.1832) to the George Vallance (b.1808) who is recorded in directories dating from 1853 to 1872 first as George Vallance then Vallance & Sons, builders & brickmakers in Mansfield. There are two yards shown on this 1877 map which fall into the Parish of Skegby & these are the purple & green yards, but I have note because dates clash with other brickmakers operating at Skegby at this time, some of these Skegby entries may refer to the two brickworks which where in another part of Skegby & I write about these yards later.
Kelly's 1876 edition lists Robert Boot at Eastfield Side, S-in-A. & this may have been the red works, but this cannot be confirmed. Robert Boot may have been the father or brother to George Boot who was a brickmaker from 1904 in Sutton, but again this cannot be confirmed.
William Bilson is listed at Eastfield, Sutton in White's 1864 edition, then in Morris's 1869 edition William is listed as Brick & Tile Manufacturer at Eastfield Side, Sutton with Richard Carter as Manager. So William's yard will have been the red coloured yard. Now this 1869 entry records Richard Carter as Manager of this works & we next find in White's 1872 edition that Richard Carter had started working at his own works in Skegby, (the purple coloured works & I have wrote about Richard Carter in my Henry Shaw Post).
Kelly's 1853 edition records brickmaker John Miller as living at Dalestorth House, Sutton & White's 1853 edition actually records his works address as Eastfield Side, Sutton, so this could be the red coloured works. John Miller is then listed in Kelly's 1855 edition at Dalestorth, Skegby. Further investigation has revealed that John Miller a farmer & maltster acquired Dalestorth House in the early 1900's. It was then his nephew, also John Miller together with his wife who were to open a "An Establishment for Young Ladies' in 1852 at their 18th century built Dalestorth House. For the sum of 20 guineas per annum young ladies of the area would receive instruction on plain and ornamental needlework, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, composition, history, geography and French. So it appears from the trade directory dates that this second John Miller is our brickmaker. Today the house is a B & B together with a garden centre set within it's grounds.
I now write about two brickmakers who worked at a brickworks which was at the side of Blackmires Farm & is not shown on the map above. The yard was situated about half a mile south off the bottom of this map on Coxmoor Road & next to Sutton Reservoir. By the way Coxmoor Road joins Eastfield Side road (which is shown on this map going south) at the junction with Garden Lane. So Charles Lindley is listed at Blackmires in White's 1844 edition with John Baines as Manager. Then Charles Lindley is next listed in White's 1853 edition again at Blackmires.
The 1861 Census records William Tomlinson as Master Brickmaker & living/boarding with William Clay at Blackmires Cottage. This cottage could have been on Blackmires Lane, which ran from Newark Road to Blackmires Farm & is now named Hamilton Road. So this William Tomlinson may have worked at or owned the Blackmires brickworks before William Beeley. I have wrote about William Beeley & his son William junior in a previous post.
I now move on to the Timeline for the brickworks marked on the 1877 map above. Please note that the dates given are from trade directories or from info found & I would like to say that this timeline is 100% accurate, but I am unable to do so. The brickmakers who I am not sure if they worked at that yard are marked with an asterisk.
Green Works on Forest Road, Skegby. This yard is shown on maps dated 1877 to 1938.
George Vallance* 1876 - 1881.
John Lane* 1885.
Aaron Barke 1904 & then Barke Brothers 1912 - 1916. Also see Blue Works entry.
Purple Works on Dalestorth Road, Skegby. Please note that the parish boundary follows the length of this road (dotted line) with the north side being Skegby & the south side being Sutton. This yard is shown on maps dated 1877 to 1938.
Richard Carter 1872 - 1878.
Henry Shaw 1894 - 1916.
Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. 1928. Owned by Walter Shaw.
Pale Yellow Works on Dalestorth Road, Sutton. This yard is shown on maps dated 1877 to 1938.
Thomas Slack 1891 - 1899.
George Boot 1901 - 1916.
S.E. Carding & Son* 1922 - 1925. There is the option that Carding & Son operated the purple works instead at these dates.
Boot Brothers 1928 - 1933. Sons of George.
Orange Works, clay pit went up to Mansfield Road, but access was via a lane off Skegby Road which today is Hill Crescent. Only shown on 1913 & 1917 maps as disused. Not on 1898 map.
I originally thought George Boot operated this yard, but I now have a March 1901 newspaper advert recording his brickworks as being on Dalestorth Road (Pale Yellow works) & builders yard on Mansfield Road (precise location of which is unknown). If I establish who owned this works I will update the post.
Blue Works on Mansfield Road. This yard is shown on maps dated 1875, 1898 & then marked disused on the 1913 map.
Aaron Barke 1871 - 1900 .
Mrs. Louise Barke 1904.
Aaron is then recorded at Skegby in 1904 & 1908, followed by his sons George & John who are recorded as Barke Brothers in 1912 to 1916 at Skegby. See Green Yard.
Red Works on Mansfield Road/ Eastfield Side. Earlier maps show this New Cross area of Sutton as a open field called East Field. This yard is shown on maps dated 1877 to 1898. Works had closed sometime after 1904 & was gone by the 1913 map.
John Miller 1853 - 1855.
William Bilson 1864 - 1869 with Richard Carter as Manager.
Robert Boot 1876. (possibly at this works).
Walter Straw (junior) 1895 to 1905.
I now list the two brickworks which are not shown on the 1877 map above.
Blackmires Brickyard was situated between Sutton Reservoir & Blackmires Farm, just to the south on this map on Coxmoor Road. This yard is shown on the 1877 map, but only the clay pit is shown on the 1898 map.
Charles Lindley 1844 to 1853 with John Baines as Manager.
William Tomlinson* 1861.
William Beeley senior 1864 up to 1885.
William Beeley junior 1876 up to 1885.
Priestsic Road - near town centre. Only on 1898 map.
William Beeley senior 1885.
William junior & John Beeley as Beeley Brothers 1885 possibly up to 1898.
This just leaves Aaron Knighton of Skegby in 1876 not yet assigned to a yard, but there is the option that he may have worked in this other part of Skegby where two more brick yards were situated & I write about these two yards little later in the post after I have wrote about the Skegby Colliery Lime & Brick Co.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1876.
After finding a 1872 trade directory entry for the Skegby Colliery Lime & Brick Company I then delved into the web to find information & the location of this colliery as I had not come across it before. So I first slightly digress to tell you about this colliery & Skegby/Stanton Hill.
I first use the 1876 map above to show the location of Skegby Colliery (coloured yellow), then the 1898 map below shows that Skegby Colliery was at the end of Wharf Road in what we now know as Stanton Hill, but why was it called Skegby Colliery. Further investigation has revealed that the village of Stanton Hill did not exist in 1876 & this area where the colliery had been sunk was in the Parish of Skegby, hence it's name. The Dodsley family of Skegby Hall were the Lords of the Manor & owners of this land & they sunk Skegby Colliery sometime in the early 1800's, the actual date is unknown. Local Historian Bill Clay-Dove wrote in his book that in 1847 coal production was recorded as only being small compared to modern outputs with an average output of 500 tons per month. Some of the coal was used by Dodsley himself to operate his colliery, lime kilns & brickworks. The Stanton Ironworks Co. then sunk Butcherwood Colliery (Teversal) in 1867 & Silverhill Colliery in 1878 with the Company then building houses for it's workers at Cooperative Street, Institute Street & Cross Row starting in 1877. These streets were to be later known as Stanton Hill in the Parish of Skegby in 1881. The first entry for Stanton Hill appears in the 1871 Census, but only as the name of a street in the Parish of Skegby. Further houses were then built by the Stanton Ironworks Co. at Meden Bank in 1880, but these houses have since been replaced with Council built houses, possibly around the 1970's. Bill records these 1880 Meden Bank houses as being demolished around 1963. It is also thought that Stanton Hill was named after the Stanton Ironworks Company with them building these houses.
You will see another colliery which I have coloured red on these maps & this pit was sunk in 1873, again by the Dodsley's who first named it New Skegby Colliery. This pit then took on the name of Brierley Colliery as it was sunk by miners who had come from Brierley Hill in Staffordshire. By the time the Blackwell Colliery Co. had taken over this pit it had been renamed Sutton Colliery & had been named after Sutton Colliery Limited which had been formed from the Skegby Colliery Lime & Brick Co., but this pit was always affectionally known as Brierley. The original Skegby Colliery which I have coloured yellow closed in 1887.
Now back to the brickworks at Skegby Colliery & the first trade directory entry that I have found for this brickworks is in Morris's 1869 edition & the entry is Skegby Colliery Co., coal owners, lime & brick manufacturers, Skegby with Richard B. Henson as Manager. Then the entry in White's 1872 edition is Skegby Colliery Lime & Brick Co., Skegby. Although both these two maps do not indicate which are the brickyard buildings, the clay pit is shown next to the colliery (yellow). I have also coloured Wharf Road yellow on the 1898 map below to show you the distance this colliery was from Stanton Hill, it was almost in Huthwaite. As to the Lime kilns owned by Skegby Colliery these may have been the lime kins that I have coloured green on the 1876 map above & where situated on Stoneyford Lane (now Road). Some small holdings & Fisher Close now occupies this former lime producing works. I have also found that there are some lime kilns & quarry marked on the 1875 map nearly opposite Skegby Hall on Mansfield Road, so more than likely these lime kilns were also owned by John Dodsley.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1898.
I now write about the two brickyards which where next to the New Skegby Colliery (aka Brierley & later Sutton) in Skegby as shown on the 1876 map below. Please note that road which was used to access these two works was called Rooley Lane at this date & was later renamed Brand Lane as shown on the 1898 map above. I have no proof, but there is the possibility that the yard which I have coloured purple may have been owned by the colliery with the Skegby Colliery Co. previously owning a brickyard at their other colliery site & this purple yard is connected to the colliery via a lane. So this theory does look promising, if I only had written proof !!!
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1876.
So as previously wrote I was unable to allot a yard to Aaron Knighton who is listed at Skegby in Kelly's 1876 edition & this blue coloured yard may have been his works as the criteria of Skegby in 1876 fits, with this area of Skegby then becoming known as Stanton Hill after 1881. As said earlier in the post Aaron Knighton may have worked at one of the yards which was on the Sutton side of Skegby & it might have been George Vallance that was at this blue coloured yard in 1876 & 1881 ? Both these two brickyards are no longer shown on the 1898 map.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1898.
I finish the post with a brickworks which was situated on Wild Hill at the junction with Chesterfield Road in an area of Sutton in Ashfield which is called City of Whiteborough. It is unknown why this area has got this name as it only consisted of a few cottages, farms & farm land at this date as shown on the 1898 map. Wild Hill is the road (red) which connects Teversal to Tibshelf. I have been unable to find any information about this brickworks neither from trade directories or from Sutton Library. I have even asked someone who I know & has lived all his life on Wild Hill & this brickworks was unknown to him also. So this one will remain a mystery unless new information turns up. If anyone has any information about this works or any other brickworks in this post, please get in touch. Thanks.
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